Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Today's post was supposed to be the Seared Scallops with Orange Supremes and Jalapeno Vinaigrette recipe I teased a few days ago, but then I realized the deadline for a tuna recipe contest I had entered was just days away!

This "Tuna Ventresca" stuffed shells recipe is my entry in the Tonnino Tuna Chef Challenge. As you'll hear in the video, "Tuna Ventresca" is the crème de la crème of the canned tuna world. You can check the Tonnino website for more details on why this wild-caught, hand-picked, Yellowfin tuna belly is so yummy, but I'll just say it made for one incredible casserole!

What I was trying to do here was gourmet-up the good old tuna noodle casserole. While it may seem counterintuitive to "cook" such an expensive, premium quality tuna, I'm so glad I did.

The flavor of this particular type of tuna is outstanding, and while I do usually enjoy it cold, as-is, I have no problem using it like as well. A regular chuck burger is great, but sometimes we just have to grind up a dry-aged rib eye steak.

A few technical notes about the video… They gave us a 2-minute time limit, which is why the presentation is way too fast. I will be posting a longer, "director's cut" soon.

Also, the odd little intro and outro screens were for my peeps on YouTube, so they would know what was up. I hope you enjoy the video, and yes, this would work with any tuna, but if you can try it with the "Tuna Ventresca," I think you'll really enjoy it.

Muuuuuuuuch better browsing, chef John. Muuuuch better. No more jerky scrolling, thank God!And, may I say, much better (smooth, tasteful) layout overall.Keep up the good work. I enjoy it several times a week!

Yummy recipe! We at Wild Planet Foods are having a tuna recipe contest on our Facebook page right now. The best recipe wins a basket of our sustainable canned seafood! Looking forward to reading more recipes:)

Hi,Getting ready to try this mouthwatering recipe. I found Callipo yellow fish tuna in oil, the package is 3 cans of 80g each totalling 240g, I'm gessing I should put all three, right?thanks in advance Chef John!Safia

Hey John -- Congratulations on your win!!!!! I just checked Tonnino's site and saw your face. That's awesome. I entered a pretty lame video, but it was my first and I learned a lot :) And my recipe tasted great. It was a fun contest, but I didn't like how they kept extending the deadline. I rushed to get my video in at the first deadline. It was like they were letting all know... We still don't like any of the videos we currently have so PLEASE enter more, hahaha -- Oh well. Btw, I'm the girl whose table you didn't want to sit at during the Foodbuzz Fest Sat. night dinner :) You had to sit at the cool table and I don't blame you. I'm messing with you too. Congrats on your Tonnino win Chef Tuna.

Saying that I loathe tuna noodle casserole is an understatement. But, since my girls LOVE it, I was willing to compromise. I had low expectations that were blown out of the water. This was AWESOME. The girls had the "Oh My God" eyes when they first tasted it. How much did I like it? I ate it for dinner and brought the leftovers to work the next day! Thanks very much Chef John!!

Made this the other night for a big dinner party; HUGE hit with my Italian friends. I had some shells left over, so I made myself a smaller version using left-over diced chicken. It's even better. The chicken version is now my "keeper" recipe.

Quick question. My wife hates....HATES ricotta cheese, along with cottage cheese and anything else near this texture. Is there a substitute someone can recommend? Maybe just upping the Fontina and omitting the ricotta? Thanks in advance.